Saturday, October 28, 2006

Hot Seats in the Heartland

The heat is on Iowa State's Dan McCarney and Kansas' Mark Mangino. Their bosses made that much clear this week. McCarney, the dean of Big 12 coaches, has a new boss in Jamie Pollard, and the athletic director has already fired basketball coach Wayne Morgan and bumped wrestling coach Bobby Douglas for Olympian Cale Sanderson. It's clear Pollard means business, and he is upset with the Cyclones' 3-5 record. Lew Perkins, Mangino's boss, declined say whether the big man's job is in jeopardy after a 3-5 start. "We're all disappointed in where we are right now," Perkins told the Kansas City Star. "But you don't overreact in the middle of the year. That would be foolish." Would firing McCarney or Mangino really help? Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News says Pollard and Perkins would be smart to consider their surroundings. Simply, Ames and Lawrence are not the easiest places to win. McCarney has guided the Cyclones to bowl games five of the past six seasons. Mangino's Jayhawks won the Fort Worth Bowl last season.